Idaho man kills charging grizzly bear in his driveway

An Idaho man was lucky to have his shotgun handy on June 6 when he had to defend his girlfriend from a charging grizzly bear. The incident happened just outside their home in Island Park, when the bear attacked while they were going inside.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials investigated the incident, which they called a “surprise encounter.” in a press release shared on Tuesday. They determined that the man killed the bear “in defense of his life,” which is allowed under Idaho law. IDFG regional communications manager James Brower explains Living outside that the grizzly bear, a yearling male, died near the roadway in front of the house. Brower says the man shot the bear once with a load of buckshot and couldn’t provide many other details about the incident.

He adds that investigators have found no clues that could help explain why the bear attacked. Grizzlies often stay with their littermates for a year or more after leaving the mother, so it is possible that a sibling was nearby. Young grizzly bears are also more curious and sensitive to trouble than older bears, who are more accustomed to (and often fearful of) people.

“The man said he and his girlfriend left their car and entered the home when she screamed and drew his attention to a bear running toward her,” officials explained in the news release. “The man was retrieving items from the vehicle, including a shotgun that he was able to lift and shoot at the bear, causing it to turn and run away.”

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Island Park is located in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of six grizzly bear recovery zones established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Of those zones, the GYE is home to the second-highest grizzly bear population, just behind the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in northwestern Montana. Together, the two zones are home to more than 2,000 grizzly bears, according to the latest estimates from the US Geological Survey. And while these populations are both growing and expanding, the species remains listed under the Endangered Species Act.

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The June 6 shooting marks the second time a grizzly bear has been killed in self-defense in the Lower 48 in 2024. The first incident occurred in late April, when a barn hunter in Montana shot a charging grizzly bear with a handgun. . In that case, the bear was a twelve-year-old sow protecting her young.